3 Ways to Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word

3 Ways to Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word
3 Ways to Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word

Table of contents:

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This wikiHow teaches you how to resolve an error in Microsoft Word that displays a message that Word cannot perform a certain action because of an open dialog box. This form of error is usually caused by a corrupt Word add-in or security settings that are too strong.

Step

Method 1 of 3: Using the Keyboard to Search for Dialog Boxes

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 1
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 1

Step 1. Click OK on the error message

If you see a message saying that Word couldn't complete the action because a dialog box is still open, but you don't see the box, you can find it via a keyboard shortcut.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 2
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 2

Step 2. Press Alt+Tab

A series of windows that are open on the computer will be displayed. You may see the next window that opens next to the Word window, which may be the problematic dialog box.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 3
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 3

Step 3. Press Alt+Tab again until you find the dialog box that opens

If the dialog box is hidden behind another open window, you can find it this way.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 4
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 4

Step 4. Click Close or OK.

You may need to click several buttons to close different dialog boxes, such as “ Cancel ”, “ No ", or " Yes ”.

Method 2 of 3: Disabling Add-ons

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 5
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 5

Step 1. Run Word in safe mode

If you see a message indicating that Word couldn't complete the action because a dialog box is open, but you don't see the box, one of the plug-ins in Word might be triggering the error. Start troubleshooting by opening Word in safe mode:

  • Close the Word window if it is still open.
  • Press Win+R to open the “Run” dialog box.
  • Type Winword /safe and press Enter.
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 6
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 6

Step 2. Try to recreate the problem

Do the thing that triggered the error message again. If you no longer see the error message, the crash may be due to a problematic add-on.

If the error still appears, try another method

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 7
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 7

Step 3. Disable add-ons

Follow these steps to turn off the add-on:

  • Click the menu " File ”.
  • Choose " Options ”.
  • Click " Add-ins ”.
  • Click " Go ” in the Manage section.
  • Uncheck the first add-on. Uncheck only the first add-on as each add-on needs to be tested separately.
  • Click " OK ”.
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 8
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 8

Step 4. Close and reopen Microsoft Word

Restart Word as usual (by clicking the “Start” menu), and not in safe mode. Word will restart with all add-ons, except for the plug-ins you previously turned off.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 9
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 9

Step 5. Try to recreate the problem

Again, do the thing that previously triggered the error message.

  • If the error no longer appears, the add-on that you turned off is most likely the cause of the problem.
  • If the error persists, plug-ins that are turned off are not the source of the problem.
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 10
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 10

Step 6. Turn off other add-ons

Go back to the add-ons list and uncheck the other add-ons. You can also tick add-ons that were previously turned off so that they can be used again.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 11
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 11

Step 7. Repeat the testing process until you find the plug-in with the problem

Once you find the add-on that's causing the error, you can remove it or turn it off permanently.

Method 3 of 3: Disabling Protected View

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 12
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 12

Step 1. Open Microsoft Word

If you want to open a document downloaded from the internet (eg from a web browser, email, or messaging app), you may see an error message like this: Word can't do this because a dialog box is open. Please close the dialog box to continue.″ Errors like this often occur due to security settings. Start by opening Word directly from the “Start” menu. You can find it in the “ Microsoft Office " in the segment " All Apps ”.

  • Do not try this method unless you are sure that the document you are trying to open is a safe file.
  • Deactivating the protected view makes the computer vulnerable to viruses so be aware of these risks when following this method.
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 13
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 13

Step 2. Click the File menu

It's in the top-left corner of the screen.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 14
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 14

Step 3. Click Options

This option is at the bottom of the menu.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 15
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 15

Step 4. Click Trust Center

It's on the left side of the window.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 16
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 16

Step 5. Click Trust Center Settings

It's in the lower-left corner of the right pane.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 17
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 17

Step 6. Click Protected View

This option is on the left. You can see three settings with checkboxes.

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 18
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 18

Step 7. Uncheck the first box

This box is marked by the text Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet.″

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 19
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 19

Step 8. Click OK

Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 20
Close a Dialog Box in Microsoft Word Step 20

Step 9. Close Microsoft Word

After turning off protected view, you can double-click a document downloaded from the internet (or an email inbox) and open it without any problems.

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